Replacement valve seat for flush boxes



June 19, 1951 F HOWE 2,557,743

REPLACEMENT VALVE SEAT FOR FLUSH BOXES Filed Feb. 13, 1947 iii-"MIME @2267? 07 Z Zfa fiarrczafiazae,

Patented June 19, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I Elra Francis Howe, Chicago, Ill. 1 Application February 13, 1947, Serial No. 72 ,299

" 1 Claim. (01. 4-56) The present invention relates to a valve seat and more particularly to a novel valve seat for use with a ball type flush box.

In the conventional ball type flush boxes in use in millions of homes today the pipe leading from the flush box to the toilet bowl is opened and closed by a ball adapted to seat on a valve at the upper end of the pipe. With use, this valve becomes pitted, corroded, and channeled causing constant leakage from the flush box to the bowl. This results not only in large waste of water but interferes with the proper function ing of the toilet as substantial leakage prevents proper flushing;

While replacement of a pitted or worn ball is relatively simple, repair of the valve seat is diflicult and expensive, requiring the attention of a competent plumber. The water supply to' the flush box must be turned off, then the flush box must be drained and the pipe, of which the valve is a part, disconnected and removed. This means a substantial disassembly of the entire flush box. In normal times a new pipe and valve seat might be substituted for those removed, but frequently one of the proper make or size is not available. At the present time substantially none is available and therefore the pipe must be taken to a shop where there is a machine tool, as a lathe, for forming a new, smooth'seat on the valve. The flush box and pipe must then be reassembled before it can be determined if the new seat has been properly formed and if not, as frequently occurs, the above operation must be repeated. During this time thetoilet is, of course, not usable, and the repair operations always result in the spilling of water over the adjacent floor and the dirtying of the floor and room in which the flush box is located. This condition exists whether the valve seat is replaced or repaired as in both cases a substantial disassembly of the flush box is required.

Some efforts have been made in the past to eliminate the above difficulties, but they have been only partially successful. The Weir Patent No. 2,001,830, issued May 21, 1935, discloses a repair valve seat formed of bendable material having a substantially ring shaped body portion with fingers extending from its entire upper edge. The body portion provides the valve seat and the fingers are bent over the top of the old seat to attach the new seat thereto.

This construction has two inherent defects. The first is the practical impossibility of obtaining the right kind of material. If the fingers are suficiently yieldable to permit them to be easily bent around the old seat they will not hold the new seat in place properly. Frequently the en-,- tire seat will be pulled off when the ball is raised by reason of the slight suction existing while the ball is inplace. If the material is sufficiently strong or stifl to keep the new seat in place it is substantially impossible to bend the fingers over the old seat even with special tools. Fur= thermore, the stiffness of the material prevents the ball from adjusting itself to the curvature sultleakage almost always occurs between the two seats.

The present invention comprises a new and readily attachable member having an annular portion adapted to overlie at least the inner upper portion of the valve seat and extend down on at least the inside thereof to be contacted by the ball valve. The member is shaped to provide an inner top surface spaced from the corresponding top surface of the seat. Means are provided between this inner top surface and the corre-'- sponding top surface of the seat to provide a fluid tight seal and also preferably to hold the member in place. This means may be a waterproof cement.

This construction completely eliminates all the above diificulties. No dismantling or draining of the flush box is necessary. The new valve seat member has a curvature such that after it becomes worn or pitted another can be put on over the worn one. Even when a new one is placed on over the worn member, the ball float will still make contact. The only effect would be that the ball would now seat in a slightly higher position. As a practical matter, it is preferred that not more than three new valve seat members be placed in this superposed arrangement, but two should last as long as the flush box.

The curvature of the valve seat member permits different sized floats to seat upon it. The preferred sealing material used in forming a fluid tight seal and in adhering the member to the valve seat is a Water insoluble putty compound. This putty is placed between the inner top surface of the member and the top surface of the When the member is pressed into valve seat. place on the valve seat excess putty compound will be rolled or squeezed out so that only enough remains to hold the member in place and to form the seal. After the member is installed, it becomes rigid as the putty is exposed to the air through the overflow tube and the flush elbow. The curvature of the member makes the member rigid and prevents it from being bent when the member is pressed into place. Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following specification and the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of one embodiment of the invention and of the adjacent flush box parts; Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a'bottom view of the new valve seat member; and Fig.

4 is an end elevation of the member.

In the embodiment'of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings, the flush box has a bottom In in which is secured a pipe ll leading to a toilet or other object to be flushed. This as is conventional, is-provided with an overflow pipe l2 connected to an extension lla of the pipe ll and communicating with the pipe ll through a conduit l lb. p

The. upper end lie of the pipe ll flares outwardly and the inner portion thereof is curved to provide a valve seat lld adapted to receive a valve ball 13 thereon to control the flow of fluid entering the pipe l I from. the flush box. The ball l3 is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1.- This ball is provided with an upwardly extending stem Hi, the end of which is formed into a loop for attachment to an operating member (not shown) adapted to be actuated in conventional manner by a handle extending from the front of theflush box. This stem is slidably supported in an opening in a bracket l5 secured to the overflow pipe l2.

The above described construction is all wellknown and, with minor variations, is incorporated into literally millions of flush boxes inuse today. The present invention is a readily attachable and detachable member l6 of rust resisting metal or other material such as a plastic. The valve seat member It comprises an annular body portion which is so formed as to overlie'the upper portion of the .valve seat lid, and a top portion lta adapted to overlie the top surface of the valve seat. The member I6 is so shaped that the inner surface of the top portion Ilia is spaced from the top of the valve seat I Id to provide room for a waterproof cement l1 such as a putty'composition. This cement or putty serves to seal the above space and also attach the member IS in place. In the embodiment shown the valve seat member I6 is also provided with a downwardly extending edge portion 'lfib on the' outer edge of the member l6. This outer edge, however, is not 4 absolutely required althoughit does serve to make vides aseat for becomes worn and pitted,

a more rigid structure and one which serves to protect the cement or putty H. The valve seat member I6 is provided with a lip lBc in the area overlying the extension lla. This lip is formed by a cut-out portion having a substantially straight top edge that is substantially even with the top outer surface l6a of the valve seat member IS. The lip l6c is shaped so as to lie in a single plane.

As is evident, the replacement valve seat member may be easily and quickly inserted by merely raising the ball l3 and inserting the seat member under it and-over the top of the pipe ll. The underside of the member should have the cement or putty applied to it before being pressed into place. The inner portion of the member prothe ball and the cement or putty When this member a new one may be without removing seals the member in place.

placed over it inthis manner the old one. The cost of because of the simplicity of its construction and no skilled labor is necessary in connection with its installation or replacement.

While I have shown and described one embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that it is capable of many modifications; and changes, therefore, in the construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in the appended claim.

I claim: v

A replacement valve seat for a flush box having a ball valve and a valve seat therefor terminating in an annular lip, comprising: a member having an annular body portion adapted to overlie the upper portion of the valve seat and extend down on either side thereof, said member being substantially U-shaped in cross-section and having a cut-out portion along a section of the outer edge with the top edge of the cut-out portion coinciding with the top plane of the annular member and having a flat outwardly extending portion, said annular member and outwardly extending fiat portion being adapted to receive cement material providing a fluid tight seal between the inner top surface and the top surface portion of the valve seat entirely therearound.

' EIRA FRANCIS HOWE.

REFERENCESv CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 904,228 Richardson Nov. 17, 1908 1,624,234 Hale Apr. 12, 1927 1,867,262 Howle July 12, 1932 2,001,830 Weir May 21, 1935 the device is nominal 

